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Latest Blogs
Last dance of the term...
Last Friday was the last day of term on our Ability course for adults with learning disabilities. The course is a new venture for Northern Ballet and has got off to a great start. The course runs every Friday during term time and offers participants the chance to develop dance skills and create and perform dance pieces. We’ve seen great progress in our participants’ posture, articulation and movement memory and we have created an excellent solo that will be performed next March at an event we...
Ten facts about The Great Gatsby
In preparation for the production we’re all learning a lot about the book and the roaring 20s so thought I'd share some facts I've learned so far.. One alternate title for the book was, Under the Red, White, and Blue Dance crazes of the time included the Charleston and the Shimmy Slang of the era... Slang Translation broads, dames, bims & dolls women bulls a plain-clothed police officer boiler or bucket a car dewdropper an unemployed man who sleeps all day More...
Ugly Duckling - A very happy duck
Quack quack! Hello there.... What an amazing few weeks it has been, with performances of Ugly Duckling in Yeadon, Hunslet, Chapeltown and at Northern Ballet, taking place to sell-out audiences. My friend Ugly was phenomenal in her first ever ballet and all the children who saw her agreed that she danced very well indeed. In total over 4000 people watched the ballet and here are just a few of the things people have said about it... "I loved it! It was the first ballet I have been to and I...
The Final Countdown!
I am going quackers with excitement! It's the premiere of Ugly Duckling tomorrow and I am looking forward to it so much I think I might pop! The scenery and costumes are waiting to be packed into the van and taken to Yeadon Town Hall first thing tomorrow morning and the programmes are currently winging their way back from the printers so we are almost ready to go. My friend, Ugly, who is performing in the ballet has been working really hard this week to make sure everything is perfect for the...
Helloween on the Humber challenge... Accepted!
One of our Academy pianists, Lee Shiel, will be taking part in the Helloween on the Humber reloaded challenge on Saturday 27th October in support of Northern Ballet’s Sponsor a Dancer campaign. Lee will be attempting to as many miles as possible across the Humber Bridge in 6 hours. Not only that, he will be doing it with a 20kg backpack and dressed as a ballerina! We are extremely grateful for Lee’s support of the campaign and by sponsoring Lee you too can help to safeguard the future of...
Dolly goes East
On a wet Tuesday morning last week I started my internship with Northern Ballet’s Communications team. After a very warm welcome the team sent me to Manchester to see the latest production of Madame Butterfly. The thought of this as my first production with the Company made me smile as I participated in the Madame Butterfly workshop 10 years ago when I was a leotard clad ballet student. (A colleague has even threatened to find the workshop photo…) Before going I was unsure of what to expect,...
The Duck with no name no more!
You've done it. You’ve chosen me a name and I’m delighted! We've had hundreds of entries in the Name the Duckling competition, and Northern Ballet have whittled it down to the best few. Mark Skipper, Northern Ballet's Chief Executive, chose Stanley. The winner is Mrs Bell from East Keswick who gets a family ticket to see Ugly Duckling. Thank you to everyone who entered the competition and I really enjoyed reading all the imaginative name suggestions. Last weekend I soaked up...
Name That Duck!
Hello again, have you missed me?! I’ve been very busy the last few weeks helping my friend Ugly practice her ballet as there was a dress rehearsal last week and she wanted to make sure she knew all the steps. Some children were invited to watch the dress rehearsal and were asked what they thought of it - apparently they all really enjoyed it and want to see it again! Ugly also told me that lots of people are buying their tickets and the performance at Yeadon Town Hall has actually sold...
My Stitch Up
Good morning duck fans. With all the cuddles I’ve been getting over the last few weeks at the Breeze events I’ve had the stuffing knocked out of me, quite literally, and I’ve now got a little cut on my neck! It’s not too major so nothing to worry about but it’s just a bit of a pain in the neck as I had planned to spend the day at the duck pond practising my swimming. But instead I’ve had to have a little operation to put some stitches in the cut and fix me up ready for my outing to Middleton...
New friends & famous faces
Quack quack! What a wonderful few days I’ve just had at the Breeze on tour event at Kirkstall Abbey. It was such fun and the weather was glorious! My duck friends who will be migrating here from Greenland shortly will be sorry to have missed all this sunshine. Because it was so hot I got a special treat of an ice cream, which was a lot tastier then the stale bread that I’m used to being fed at the duck pond! I've met hundreds of lovely children over the last few days - we played hook-a...
